Lebda was a regular on Detroit's third pairing until Andreas Lilja returned to action following the Olympic break and seized the sixth spot on defense. Lebda played sporadically afterward and appeared in only two playoff games.

Lebda played regularly for the Red Wings the previous three seasons. He is undersized (5-9, 195) but a good skater and could move the puck out of his zone quickly. However, his performance declined steadily last season and he was prone to turnovers and mistakes.

He earned a surprisingly big raise from the Maple Leafs after making $850,000 last season.

Lebda, 28, has appeared in 326 regular-season games, picking up 18
goals, 50 assists and 201 penalty minutes, all with Detroit.

The Red Wings signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2004.